of the Supreme Court presidential immunity decision Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fannie Willis is expected to add new details Monday to the already-discontinued racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and his allies.
It was the Georgia case that involved some of the same issues that involved special prosecutor Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump on federal election meddling charges. it was officially discontinued last month until at least October, the appeals court will hear arguments from Trump and some of his co-defendants challenging the presiding judge’s decision not to remove Willis as prosecutor.
Supreme Court Justice Scott McAfee has yet to set a trial date, and one of the pending motions before him is Trump’s request to have the charges dismissed. he threweat itn presidential immunity the basics.
The Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor on the issue in a federal case on Monday, finding that he has immunity may have immunity for some conduct in office and for other actions.
Willis’ office declined to comment on the verdict. Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, referred a request for comment to the Trump campaign but did not immediately respond.
NBC News legal analyst Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney, said the Georgia case “is now subject to the same scrutiny as the federal case.”
“Trump will move to dismiss the case on immunity grounds, and the indictment will require a hearing to determine what constitutes official and unofficial conduct,” he said.
The high court’s 6-3 decision said Trump’s communications with Justice Department officials related to the election-rigging allegations were immune, and he was also “presumably immune” from prosecution for his contacts with then-Vice President Mike Pence within weeks. Riots in the Capitol until January 6, 2021. These relations are also referred to in the case of Georgia.
The decision did not rule on immunity related to Trump’s contacts with individuals outside the federal government, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump’s January 2, 2021 phone call prompts Raffensperger “Finding” more votes than Joe Biden has in the state is a key component of the Fulton County indictment, as well as an attempt to engage in so-called impeachment. Alternative presidential voters for Trump.
The Supreme Court ruling in the federal case said that determining whether such actions constitute an official act “requires careful analysis” by a judge, including “an evaluation of the numerous alleged interactions with various public officials and private individuals.”
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, an Atlanta attorney, said that when the official stay in the Fulton County case is eventually lifted, there will be additional litigation over whether certain actions by Trump are official, leading to further appeals and delays.
Because it’s a state case, Trump won’t be able to stop it if he wins the election in November, as he theoretically could with the two federal criminal cases against him. However, Trump’s lawyer, Sadow, argued to McAfee in December that if Trump is re-elected, he cannot be prosecuted until after he leaves office.
“I believe that due to the supremacy clause and his duties as president of the United States, this trial will not take place until he leaves office,” Sadow said.
Norm Eisen, who worked for the House Democrats during Trump’s first impeachment, said the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling that broadened its view of presidential immunity could lead to legal problems for two of Trump’s Georgia case defendants: a former Justice Department civil attorney Geoffrey Clarke and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
At the Justice Department, Clark tried to use his position to push Trump’s baseless claims about a stolen election, while Meadows was allegedly involved in efforts to pressure state officials in Georgia.
Eisen noted that Meadows had argued that his 2020 election was unsuccessful because of his official duties, a claim rejected by a federal judge and a federal appeals court. The judge also rejected similar arguments by Clark; his appeal is pending.
For prosecutors, “Meadows, it’s still a pretty straight shot,” Eisen said. “For Clark, probably the same, but a few more twists and turns created by this decision.”
Joyce VanceAn NBC News legal analyst said Monday’s decision is likely to prolong an already lengthy process in Georgia.
“We’ve seen how slow the Georgia process is — it takes a long time to fight and litigate,” he said, adding that some parameters of the Supreme Court’s decision were still unclear.
“No one should pretend that the review is an easy read. It will take time to research,” Vance said. “There’s a lot of complexity here.”